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Why are hurricanes so rare in Hawaii? It's a lucky quirk

Hurricanes in Hawaii are surprisingly rare. While there are usually between four or five tropical cyclones in the central Pacific each year, only 14 hurricanes got within 200 miles of the main islands between 1950 and 2017.

HONOLULU — Hurricanes in Hawaii are surprisingly rare, partly due to a quirk of geography that puts the islands just out of the worst swath of danger.

While there are usually between four or five tropical cyclones in the central Pacific ocean each year, fewer than ten have gotten within 200 nautical miles of the islands since records began to be kept in 1950, according to the Central Pacific Hurricane Center located at the University of Hawaii in Honolulu.

The most potent to hit since statehood was Hurricane Iniki. In 1992 this Category 4 storm devastated the island of Kauai, killing 6 people and causing more than $3.1 billion in damage.

There are three main reasons Hawaii is so seldom hit with hurricanes, despite being in an ocean where they are frequent.

The first is Hawaii’s fortuitous location within the flow of the easterly trade winds. Even as hurricanes move towards the islands, when they get close these prevailing winds push them westward and away.

That’s what’s happening with Hurricane Lane. As it gets close to the island of Oahu it’s making the usual turn to the west, mostly avoiding the islands, despite the sometimes devastating winds and rain it brought to the Big Island of Hawaii and Maui.

A second reason is simply that the Pacific ocean is very large and Hawaii is very small.

“It’s the proverbial needle in the haystack. The hurricanes just can’t find Hawaii,” said Jeff Weber, an atmospheric scientist at the University Corporation for Atmospheric Research, a nonprofit consortium of more than 100 universities focusing on the atmospheric sciences.

Another reason is ocean temperature. Tropical storms can only form and continue in areas where the ocean surface temperature is 80 degrees or above. They convert the warm air over the ocean into powerful winds and waves. When surface water temperatures fall below 80 degrees they begin to dissipate.

The Hawaiian islands are the visible tops of massive volcanos, most of which lie below the surface. The temperature of the water at the ocean floor, which can be as deep as three and a half miles around the islands, is approximately 35 degrees.

“That deep, cold ocean water churns up and that shuts off the storms,” said Weber.